Friday: On the way to the Summit of the Americas, the President will speak at the Port of Tampa about the importance of U.S. exports to the Americas and the need to deepen trade and investment. He arrives in Cartagena Friday night, and he’ll begin the summit with a dinner that the Colombians are hosting for summit leaders.

Saturday: PBO begins his day with a CEO Summit of the Americas. He will then join the other leaders for an arrival ceremony in the early afternoon. From that, they will go into the plenary session, which will run throughout the afternoon. The leaders will again have a dinner during which they will continue their discussions.

Sunday: In the morning there will be an official photo for the Summit. That will be followed by the leaders’ retreat, which will run throughout the morning and conclude the summit program. The President will then have a multilateral meeting with Caribbean leaders.

In the afternoon, the President will have a bilateral program with President Santos of Colombia that will include a meeting and a working lunch. The two leaders will then hold a joint press conference and will participate in an event at San Pedro Claver Church. In the late afternoon, the President will return to the United States, getting back to Washington late Sunday night.

NYT: Punctuating a week of political assaults on Mitt Romney over taxes, President Obama and Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. plan to release their own income tax returns on Friday, along with a statement calling on Mr. Romney to do the same, according to an Obama campaign official.

The release of the returns, four days ahead of the Internal Revenue Service’s tax deadline for the public, will set the stage for another week of wrangling over taxes, with the Senate scheduled on Monday evening to take up the White House’s proposed “Buffett Rule” minimum tax for the wealthiest Americans.

…. While Mr. Obama has long acknowledged being in the nation’s high-income echelon, thanks largely to sales of his best-selling books, he and his wife, Michelle, have paid an effective federal tax rate nearly twice that of Mr. Romney and his wife, Ann, according to tax returns released by both couples.

…. Asked Thursday if Mr. Romney had plans to release his returns, an aide said, “I can’t give you any guidance on when they will be released, but I can let you know that in previous years, Mitt Romney has sought an extension.”

ThinkProgress: Mitt Romney has not publicly stated his opinion on the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), the reauthorization of which Republicans are delaying this year because of added provisions for marginalized communities.

….. In 2008, Romney didn’t even know what VAWA was: During an “Ask Mitt Anything” forum …. he demurred when an audience member asked him whether he would hold up reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act on the grounds that it kept men from visiting their children.

“I’m not familiar with the Act,” Romney replied.

The answer surprised some women’s rights advocates, since the Violence Against Women Act – which established new federal crimes for domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking – has been federal law for more than a dozen years. Former President Bill Clinton signed it in 1994, it was the subject of a high-profile Supreme Court case in 2000 and has been reauthorized twice by Congress. Bush signed the most recent version in 2006.

ThinkProgress: For the first time in history, the United States government has issued an indictment in a case that involves a hate crime based on the victim’s sexual orientation. Defendants David Jason Jenkins and Anthony Ray Jenkins of Kentucky allegedly kidnapped Kevin Pennington, took him into a secluded part of a state park, and beaten until he was nearly dead. The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act was signed into law on October 28, 2009 by President Obama, but this is its first application.

Washington Post: …. The grand jury charged the men with violating a hate crime law that was expanded in 2009 to cover assaults motivated by bias against gays, lesbians and transgender people…

“The indictment marks the first federal case in the nation charging a violation of the sexual orientation section of the Federal Hate Crimes Law,” said a U.S. Department of Justice statement.

“It’s vindicating to see that the years of hard work that went into making sure this law was on the books is now being put into place,” said Michael Cole-Schwartz, a spokesman for the Washington-based Human Rights Campaign, which pushed for the law’s passage.

Romney speaks at the NRA annual convention in St. Louis today – which Willard will turn up?

Mitt Romney: “I purchased a gun when I was a young man, I’ve been a hunter pretty much all my life.”

Carl Cameron (Fox): “…. when it was later revealed that in fact he’s only been hunting twice he said he meant varmints and rodents – but any sportsman will tell you, that ain’t hunting, that’s pest control.”

Colombian Silvio Carrasquilla gestures in front of a huge picture of the US presidential family, during an interview at his house in Turbaco, some 60 km from Cartagena. Obama will attend the VI Summit of the Americas, being held in Colombia’s Caribbean resort city of Cartagena.

President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter at a college basketball game between Georgetown Hoyas and the Duke Blue Devils on January 30, 2010 at the Verizon Center in Washington DC.